


Grey

by Pattonwyn



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Hospitals, I'm Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26342302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pattonwyn/pseuds/Pattonwyn
Summary: Tw /// hospitalsAlso slight spoilers for Arc 2 (characters)So basically in this I take the little gc and make them suffer. Also Br'aad runs a little too far and gets a little too cold.Also erm the little gc has a lot of other set storylines so yeah jUST ROLL WITH IT-ALSO YEAH HUGE THANKS TO THE LITTLE AU GC I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS <3
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	Grey

It's Jared's favorite day of the week today, surprisingly. It's _super_ cold out, and snowing, but at least he's out of that damned school for a day. In addition to that, he gets to keep the kids until 8. He's been wanting to show them the stars for a while. Hopefully tonight will be his chance. 

Jared and Mountain are chaperoning, with Vel is keeping warm next to Ander (he came along). Taxi is huddled very closely next to Jared, Mountain is in an extremely puffy jacket, and Braad and Sylnan are in thin hoodies huddling next to each other. "It's okay! I like the cold.." Braad barely stammers out, his lips looking a rather grey-blue color. 

Sylnan holds him closer.

They're walking through the streets of town, making their way to their destination (the goal of today's field trip? Understanding what happens to plants in the winter. Taxi was very interested). It's getting colder by the second, and every second Mountain is wishing more and more that he brought an extra coat for the two shivering Vengolors on his left. 

Jared slowly pulls in front of the class, waving his hand in a somewhat grand gesture. "We're uh, we're here!" And there they are. The park. Except...where there are usually vibrant green trees and beautiful flowers of all colors, there's only the brown bark of trees and the blanket of white snow, growing ever so higher.

That doesn't seem to stop anyone other than Jared, Ander, and Mountain, though. The class, filled with a new energy, goes racing into the area.

Taxi bolts over to the large tree in the center of the park. Its branches are now barren, but he loves it anyway. 

Velrisa runs over to sandbox, even though it's covered in snow. That's her doctor's office, and she expects Taxi to be there soon. As her patient he'll need her cure-all- her small reflex hammer.

Sylnan immediately races to the swingset. He's never used them before, usually Wendell and his friends are on them day and night. Now though, this is his chance. He hops up on one of the swings and begins to push off of the ground.   
Only a few seconds pass, and Sylnan is already higher up than Wendell and his friends have ever been.

Br'aad, ever the adventurer, runs off...somewhere else. He's running as fast as he can, trying to keep his mind off of how freezing he is. "Really, I'll be okay, Sylnan!! Take my jacket..please. You need it more than I do. You just got over a nasty cold." That's what he said to him. And he didn't regret it, no, but he did regret that his father found his savings and took them. Again. For whatever funny drink he likes. Maybe Br'aad should ask him about that...wait, he's getting off track. He's running, and...where...where was he?

He looks around and he sees...snow. Lots of snow. And trees. Lots of those, too. Where is he? How did he get here? Did he run through the woods? Was he running that fast? That's not possible, right? He can't have been running that fast, right? Plus, his legs hadn't even given out. He couldn't have been that far...right?

Jared stands motionless as the children he stands in front of speed past him, desperate to get to whatever playing ground they want to. He sighs halfheartedly, sort of caring about the lesson he planned on, but immediately gives up. He watches as Taxi laughs up in his big tree, Velrisa smiles in her doctor's office, Sylnan grins ear to ear as he hops onto the swing seat for the first time, and as Br'aad...goes, and...is Br'aad. As much as he loves the kid, he's unpredictable. 

He stands there and talks with Ander and Mountain for a while, all desperately clinging onto the last little bit of warmth each of their drinks has left- Jared's coffee, Ander's tea, and Mountain's 'coffee'. He occasionally glances over to his class, seeing flashes of purple, blue, and auburn, and green every few seconds. 

He's almost content in this weather somehow.

 _Almost_.

He can't help but feel like something is...off. He's not exactly sure what, but he'll be damned if he doesn't figure it out. He clears his throat softly, trying to get the attention of the other two adults stuck in an _absolutely riveting_ conversation.

Both men turn their attention to him, Mountain looking rather thankful for the interruption.

"Er, you said somethin', Jared?"

"Oh, no, I just uh...I feel like...do either of you feel like something's off?"

"I mean...maybe? It feels...kinda quiet, I guess." Mountain takes a swig of his 'coffee', feeling slighty on edge.

Jared ponders this for a moment. Quiet...

Mountain's right. It's quiet. Sure he hears soft murmurs and rustles, but no loud noises. No yells, no loud voices.

He looks over once more.

Purple  
Blue  
Auburn  
_Green._  
_Where was green?_

"Oh _fuck_ , BR'AAD!"

Jared runs as fast as he can, searching for any sliver of green he can find. Mountain follows just behind him. He quickly says to Jared, "What do you need me to do?" 

Jared turns to face him, fear evident in his eyes. "Round up the rest of the kids. Don't tell them what's going on, just tell them that something's happened. Don't, for any reason, tell Sylnan. He will come after Br'aad. You and I know it."

"...Okay."

Jared swiftly turns around, running as fast and as far as he can into the woods.

  
Br'aad paces back and forth, his breathing getting slowly but surely more panicked. He was sure someone was going to come and find him. He was sure of it. Even if the teachers didn't, Sylnan would. He always would.

Right?

  
Mountain hastily relays what he's gathered to Ander, asking him to help watch the remaining kids for the time being. Ander, of course, agrees, and they round up Taxi, Vel, and Sylnan, with Ander keeping Vel close by his side. 

Sylnan looks around, extremely worried. "Uhm...Where's Br'aad? Is he okay?"

Before Mountain can answer, Ander, who did _not_ receive specific instructions to keep this information from Sylnan, has already started telling the truth to the half elf. The one boy who shouldn't know what's going on.

"We...we don't know, Sylnan. Your brother, he...ran off. Somewhere."

"Where?! I..I have to go get him! Which way did he go?!"

"We think maybe in the woods, but no-"

Before the words are out of Ander's mouth, Sylnan is booking it towards the woods. Mountain immediately chases after him, using everything in him to catch up to the spry little half elf. "He's my brother! I have to find him!" Sylnan cries, sounding panicked and on the verge of tears. Mountain quickly holds Sylnan back from the woods, keeping him grounded where he stands. The little boy struggles with all of his might against his teacher, but it's no use. Sylnan falls limp in Mountain's arms, tears slowly beginning to slide down the child's cheeks. "Please! I- I have to find him...please!" Sylnan sobs into his teacher's chest. "I'm sorry, Sylnan, really, but...I can't. I can't let you go. I would. But you could get hurt. Or you could go missing, too."

  
Even after what feels like hours, Jared can hear Sylnan's screams from miles away. It's a blood curdling, heart breaking, screaming sob that tears from the boy's throat. While it absolutely breaks his heart to hear, it presses him on. He speeds up again, calling Br'aad's name. At this point, he's praying to any and every god that the little boy would call back or just appear in front of him.

  
After all of the pacing, panicking, and crying, Br'aad finally collapses into the snow on the ground, exhausted. He doesn't know how long he's been here, but he does know that the sun is starting to slowly fall further and further. It's also getting colder than he thought was possible. He feels his eyelids drooping, the cold and the hunger getting to him. He tries to fight it, blinking a few times, but it's not long until sleep overtakes him, leaving him sprawled out in the cold, wet snow.

  
Jared looks up into the sky above him. The sun's setting now, at an alarming rate. He has to find this child, and fast. He honestly isn't sure if anyone could survive a night in this weather. It feels cold, even for him, and he's wearing a heavy jacket. Br'aad was wearing nothing but a small shirt. He couldn't even imagine what state he was in right now-

Jared is rudley pulled out of his thoughts by his foot catching on something, causing him to trip and promptly fall face first into the snow. He hastily gets back up, his face feeling slightly numb now. He turns back to see what it was that he tripped on, guessing some stupid tree branch.

He does not expect to see that he tripped over a body. 

The teacher drops back down to his knees, his mind a mix of relief and worry. As he further inspects the body, it's clear that it's a very, very weak Br'aad Vengolor. Jared scoops the young boy into his arms, and begins running back the way he came, as fast as he possibly can.

  
After Sylnan stops sobbing, he, Taxi, and Velrisa all sit very quietly with one another, all very worried about their friend (or brother, in Sylnan's case). Mountain tries to distract them with games, but it doesn't work. They all just sit there, voices hushed, talking about their best blonde friend. 

That's why, when Taxi's eyes light up, and he screams, "LOOK!" at the top of his lungs, everyone is thrown into a panic- Velrisa screams and looks, Sylnan looks and screams. Mountain jumps and almost says some things that would get him fired, and Ander jumps and actually says things that would get him fired. Good thing he doesn't work at a school. 

Jared emerges from the forest, a tiny Br'aad in his arms. He looks scared as he brings him up to the rest of the group. They all stare in horror as Br'aad's body is shown to them.

"He's- he's passed out, and, and, _grey_ , and _pale_ , and _cold_ , and barely breathing and I don't know what to do, Mountain, Mountain what do we do-"

Mountain only raises a hand up to Jared's anxious rambling, already calling someone. "Hey, Octavius.  
...  
Yeah, it's Mountain.  
...  
Listen, I'm got a really bad situation. I've got a kid here. A boy. And he's not looking good. I think he might have hypothermia. And uh, his father isn't uh...he isn't the best. So could you maybe come over here or send someone to come pick us up and take us to you?   
...  
Please. You owe me one.  
...  
Yeah? Good.  
...  
We're at the park, you know the one a few miles away?  
...  
Yeah, that one. Thanks, man.  
...  
See you soon.   
...  
Bye."

With that, Mountain takes off his coat and places it around Br'aad's small figure. He quietly says, "An ambulance is on the way." 

  
Sylnan stands there in absolute shock and panic as he watches all of this happen. His brother's sickly grey face, Mr. Jared's panicky monologue, and Mr. Mountain's phone call. He only starts to snap out of his daze once more when he faintly hears the sound of an ambulance in the distance. He feels the tears start to fall, slowly but surely. He also feels himself latch onto his brother's body that's currently sitting on one of the many picnic tables in the park, under the jackets of Jared, Mountain and Ander. 

The ambulance arrives quickly, they were pretty fast getting to the park. A paramedic steps out rather quickly to talk to them as the other paramedics take up Br'aad. They move Sylnan out of the way, though he's very reluctant to do so.

"Hey, I'm Chirp. Or at least that's what my friends call me."

"Hey, Chirp. I'm Mountain. Good to meet you."

"Good to meet you too, sir."

"So uh...what's going on with him? The kid?"

"Well, I heard you over the phone and you were right. The kid's definitely got hypothermia. You're lucky you found him when you did. In clothes like that? At night? That would have ended awfully."

"Yeah...anyway, are we uh..are we good to go?" 

"Oh, yes sir. We can fit one adult and one child in the back with...Br'aad, you said his name was, and the rest of you can either take your cars to the hospital or you can go home. It's completely up to you." Chirp then turns away from the group, jogging towards the doors to the truck.

"I'll take my car, if that's okay with you, Jared."

"I, uh..yeah. That's fine. And I'm assuming Sylnan is coming with us in the truck?"

Sylnan, teary eyed and more anxious than anyone's very seen him, nods vigorously. He's not leaving his brother alone anytime soon.

The ride in the ambulance is silent, other than Jared calling Taxi's mother to inform her of the situation at hand. She's on the road in a matter of seconds- she knows that her son's friend means a lot to him. She's willing to let Taxi stay. Aside from that, though, Jared and Sylnan sit in silence. The paramedics pile blankets on top of Br'aad's unconscious, pale, grey body.

They reach the hospital pretty fast, and as soon as they arrive, Br'aad is taken from the cold outdoors into a very warm, white room. 

They're not allowing visitors at this time.

  
The small class sits in the waiting room, each doing different things- Jared is pacing, looking up various effects of hypothermia, and Mountain is sitting quietly, thinking about the events of tonight. Ander is lightly stroking a sleeping Velrisa's hair, and Taxi's mother is holding him tightly, though he is fast asleep, and Sylnan sits. He's alone, wide awake, and nervously chewing on his fingernails. Mountain attempted to call his father, but it went straight to voicemail. 

Mountain pretends not to notice, but he hears Sylnan's sigh of relief when Brendan's outgoing message plays.

A few hours pass, the waiting room remaining completely silent and completely still.

Octavius rushes through the door, already walking over to Mountain. Sylnan jumps to his feet, already feeling adrenaline from the anxiety coursing through him.   
Ander gently shakes Velrisa awake, and she immediately sits upright, her reflex hammer in hand.  
Taxi's mother loosens her grip on him slightly, and he stirs awake as she sets him in the chair next to her.   
Jared abruptly stops his pacing, and immediately focuses all of his attention on Octavius. 

"I'll be honest Mountain, he gave us quite a scare. His body temperature went way lower than we expected. At its worst, it was about 90.1° farenheit...that being said, he's okay now. His body temperature is getting back up to normal, and he'll be able to go home sometime tonight, but he'll be exhausted these next few days."

At these words, a tired, relieved, high pitched voice lets out a sob he's been holding in since he entered the hospital. Sylnan runs to Octavius, the tears once again being unable to stop. "My brother's gonna be okay?" he sniffles.

"Yeah. Yeah he is...would you like to go see him?"

"Please?"

"Of course, little buddy. Of course. Now, he's not awake yet, so you're gonna have to be quiet, okay?" The doctor turns to the adults within the group, "This goes for anyone else going back. It's not visiting hours, so you're lucky I'm doing this for you."

  
The group creeps down the hallway, stopping in front of a small room. It'll be quite cramped, but they can all just fit inside the compact room. Br'aad lies there, sleeping and finally _not_ grey, and each of the children slowly walks up to where he's resting. They all just stare at him for a moment, worried that all of a sudden he'll go grey again.

But he doesn't.

So Taxi pulls out the small winter pansy he found back at the park and carefully places it behind Br'aad's ear.

Velrisa pulls out her trusty reflex hammer, then gently hits the blonde's hand with it. "I hope this helps..." she whispers as she hits him.

Finally, Sylnan climbs his way onto Br'aad's small bed, making sure not to wake him. He doesn't have a flower like Taxi. Or a hammer like Velrisa, but he still has something to give his brother. 

Sylnan wraps his arms tightly around Br'aad, and whispers is his ear, "I'll never leave you alone again, Br'aad. 

I _promise_."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi don't be mean to me please this is probably bad please don't bully me I'm trying to get back into writing please,.,,. Also I completely kinda lost the plot pretty much all of this was written between 12 and 4 am and I just...yeah please don't tell me I suck Okay bye gonna post this before I chicken out like a coward also bet y'all didn't think the grey would be literal get dunked on
> 
> -Patton


End file.
